Oriole Press

An artists’ imprint for experimental reading and writing.


Oriole Press is run by artist, designer & facilitator francis burger, and friends. It exists to make room for love letters from infatuated disciples, for books about books, and whip scorpions.

Oriole Press is named after the Black-Headed Oriole that frequents the pockets of broad-leaved endemics that hug the  north-facing (frost-sheltered) ridges of Johannesburg’s peri-urban neighbourhoods – the Oriole stays a little out of sight but pronounces itself through its loud whistles and imitations, and its distinctive ‘liquid-sounding warble’ (a perfect description via wikipedia and a recording of the call below, the warble is about mid-way).

   


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Oriole Press is run by artist, designer & facilitator francis burger, and friends. It exists to make room 



All PublicationsMeteorites
METEORITES Meteorites, a book of poems by Lavendhri Arumugam, with an essay and illustrations by francis burger. 2023.

Softcover, 20 pages, with 6 hand-stamped colour plates and Riso printed cover. Edition of 50. Printed in Johannesburg and Berlin. Published by Oriole Press and edition~verso, Johannesburg, 2023.

South Africa R450        

Europe & UK €30

Prices exclude shipping. 
To order email francis at oriolepress@proton.me


Image: The Wrong Doers & Friday on the Hill details from L, Arumugam, ‘Meteorites’. 2023.

Meteorites is a book of poems about childhood, curiousity, and reproach, written by Lavendhri Arumugam with illustrations and an essay by francis burger.

They made an aunty of me–  
busy, looking, picking, hiding
retrievable
treasures for later.

—from Four PM, Lavendhri Arumugam, Meteorites, 2023


Meteorites with pages from Plain Furniture, Peter Clarke. 1990. Cape Town: Snail Press, the ‘little magazine’ IZWI no. 6 (eds. Phil du Plessis, Stephen Gray, Wilma Strockenström) with cover illustrations and poems by Clarke; and ‘Sue’s copy’ of an early Snail poem compendium by Snail Press founder Gus Ferguson.
Meteorites was written in relation to Plain Furniture, a collection of writings and graphics by South African artist Peter Clarke – poetic descriptions of encounters, memories and musings from across the artists’ life in Cape Town from the mid 1930s to the 1990s – published in 1991 by Gus Ferguson’s Snail Press, Plumstead, Cape Town. 

“Life is at times bitter but often pleasant” 
—from ‘Bokkems and Wine’, Peter Clarke, Plain Furniture, 1991

Each poem in the book is accompanied by a hand-stamped colour plate, printed with Sara-Aimee Verity of edition~verso with assistance of Michaela Verity, Boitumelo Phashe, and Bradley Cloete.


Image: Process images (wooden stamps made with recycled pine and lino) from the printmaking process at edition verso, 2023. 
Lavendhri Arumugam is a writer, maker and curator who grew up in East London and Johannesburg (South Africa) and now lives and works in London (United Kingdom). Arumugam has a Masters in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University, and was a recipient of the London Writers Awards for Narrative Non-fiction in 2021. Arumugam is presently and continuously working on a non-fiction manuscript about cricket and fatherhood.

francis burger is an artist, designer, facilitator and experimental publisher (Oriole Press) based in Johannesburg.

Image: Event poster for Meteorites publication launch at Hopscotch Reading Room, Berlin, July 2023. 

Colophon

Meteorites
Lavendhri Arumugam 
2023 

Design and illustrations by francis burger

Conceptualised and supported as a part of 'Papertrails', presented by The Independent Publishing Project with Jonah Sack at A4 Arts Foundation, Cape Town, 2022

Colour plates printed at edition~verso with Sara-Aimee Verity, assisted by Michaela Verity, Boitumelo Phashe, and Bradley Cloete; Inners printed by Postnet Norwood; Covers printed by Drucken3000

With thanks to Sebastian Borckenhagen, Sue Clark, Theron, Lara, and to Siddartha Lokanandi and Erin Honeycutt (Cutt Press) at Hopscotch Reading Room, Berlin.

Oriole Press & edition~verso

Johannesburg

978-0-6397-9041-1



Oriole Press
Johannesburg, 2001.
South Africa.